Heavenly creatures - OUR PET CEMETERY

Good grief! These animal lovers have turned their lifestyle block into a sanctuary for pets past

- AMY NELMES BISSETT

With its manicured lawns, spectacular trees and unique sculptures, it’s easy to think the four hectares at the front of Jackie Clements’ home are simply the well-tended gardens of a retired couple.

But looks can be deceiving. Spotted around the stunning grounds are about 1600 small plaques. Each is the burial site of a former pet – of all sizes great and small.

“It was really never our intention to have a pet cemetery in our garden,” explains Jackie. “It just kind of happened.”

By her own admission, Jackie says her long-term partner Dave Stephens has been the driving force in turning their vast backyard into a large-scale pet garden of remembrance. He bought the land in the late 1970s for $20,000, before meeting Jackie, now 65, in 1985.

“I considered many options,” says Dave, 72. “It was just a triangle shape of steep grassland. I eventually decided to create a park, but I kept thinking back to a pet cemetery I’d driven past in the 1960s in Lower Hutt. I just couldn’t shake the idea off.”

The couple soon spent every weekend and most evenings turning the land, located just outside of Albany, Auckland, into beautiful cascading gardens, with its many nooks and crannies offering the unique and unusual. It’s been a passion project right from the start of their romance.